Upside shutters Web site
Technology news site UpsideToday says it will cease operations, making it the latest casualty in the contracting world of New Economy publications.
The site posted a notice Saturday informing visitors of the changes. However, the note said the company's print publication, Upside Magazine, will continue to publish on a monthly basis.
"We have fought long and hard to stay afloat, but now we must say good-bye," read the message on the site.
Publications, particularly those covering the Internet and technology industries, have come under the gun since the flurry of shutdowns among Internet start-ups drained online advertising dollars.
As overall advertising spending continues to decline, more publications face revenue shortfalls. The Interactive Advertising Bureau, an ad trade group, on Monday reported that online ad spending in the first two quarters of this year has declined 7.8 percent to $3.76 billion. By comparison, U.S. Internet advertising grew by 78 percent for the full year in 2000, reaching $8.2 billion.
UpsideToday joins a growing list of online and print publications covering technology and finance that have folded. Other casualties include The Industry Standard, which is scheduled to appear in bankruptcy court Monday after discontinuing publication in August.
In July, AOL Time Warner agreed to buy Business 2.0 from its publisher, Imagine Media, for $68 million. AOL Time Warner eventually relaunched the magazine but replaced most of its editorial staff with people from Fortune's New Economy publication eCompany Now.
Ziff-Davis Media, publisher of eWeek and PC Magazine, earlier this summer ousted Chairman and Chief Executive James Dunning and then folded its Internet operations into the rest of the company.
Rumors continue to persist that Red Herring magazine, which covers the financial aspects of technology, will run out of cash and fold its operations. Earlier this month, the company cut 17 percent of its work force and returned to a monthly publishing schedule in response to the worsening advertising market.
Red Herring spokeswoman Deirdre Hussey said the rumors are "completely untrue." Although she declined to comment on the company's cash reserves, she cited audit figures showing an increase in circulation over the past year.
Hussey said Red Herring has 330,000 subscribers, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, which has helped the company increase its advertising base. Red Herring also plans to launch a $750,000 advertising campaign in trade publications and via outdoor advertising in Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco.